6,584 research outputs found
Characterization of highly-oriented ferroelectric Pb_xBa_(1-x)TiO_3
Pb_xBa_(1-x)TiO_3 (0.2 ≾ x ≾ 1) thin films were deposited on single-crystal MgO as well as amorphous Si_3N_4/Si substrates using biaxially textured MgO buffer templates, grown by ion beam-assisted deposition (IBAD). The ferroelectric films were stoichiometric and highly oriented, with only (001) and (100) orientations evident in x-ray diffraction (XRD) scans. Films on biaxially textured templates had smaller grains (60 nm average) than those deposited on single-crystal MgO (300 nm average). Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) has been used to study the microtexture on both types of substrates and the results were consistent with x-ray pole figures and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) micrographs that indicated the presence of 90° domain boundaries, twins, in films deposited on single-crystal MgO substrates. In contrast, films on biaxially textured substrates consisted of small single-domain grains that were either c or a oriented. The surface-sensitive EBSD technique was used to measure the tetragonal tilt angle as well as in-plane and out-of-plane texture. High-temperature x-ray diffraction (HTXRD) of films with 90° domain walls indicated large changes, as much as 60%, in the c and a domain fractions with temperature, while such changes were not observed for Pb_xBa_(1-x)TiO_3 (PBT) films on biaxially textured MgO/Si_3N_4/Si substrates, which lacked 90° domain boundaries
The effect of non-uniform damping on flutter in axial flow and energy harvesting strategies
The problem of energy harvesting from flutter instabilities in flexible
slender structures in axial flows is considered. In a recent study, we used a
reduced order theoretical model of such a system to demonstrate the feasibility
for harvesting energy from these structures. Following this preliminary study,
we now consider a continuous fluid-structure system. Energy harvesting is
modelled as strain-based damping and the slender structure under investigation
lies in a moderate fluid loading range, for which {the flexible structure} may
be destabilised by damping. The key goal of this work is to {analyse the effect
of damping distribution and intensity on the amount of energy harvested by the
system}. The numerical results {indeed} suggest that non-uniform damping
distributions may significantly improve the power harvesting capacity of the
system. For low damping levels, clustered dampers at the position of peak
curvature are shown to be optimal. Conversely for higher damping, harvesters
distributed over the whole structure are more effective.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures, to appear in Proc. R. Soc.
Analysis of Tokamak fusion device parameters affecting the efficiency of Tokamak operation
Nuclear Power has been available as a relatively clean and reliable energy source for several decades. While tokamak engines have been in existence almost as long as successful fission-powered nuclear generators, they have not yet reached operational success for energy generation. This meta study collates key fusion device parameters and determines ideas on the applicability of fusion devices for energy. This paper supports the argument that toroidal tokamaks are not limited by volume whereas spherical designs have a potential volume limit, spherical tokamaks use a lower magnetic field current than toroidal tokamaks. Further scientific and engineering progress is required before tokamak devices can be a viable technology to be used for energy generation
Control System Analysis and Synthesis via Linear Matrix Inequalities
A wide variety of problems in systems and control theory can be cast or recast as convex problems that involve linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). For a few very special cases there are "analytical solutions" to these problems, but in general they can be solved numerically very efficiently. In many cases the inequalities have the form of simultaneous Lyapunov or algebraic Riccati inequalities; such problems can be solved in a time that is comparable to the time required to solve the same number of Lyapunov or Algebraic Riccati equations. Therefore the computational cost of extending current control theory that is based on the solution of algebraic Riccati equations to a theory based on the solution of (multiple, simultaneous) Lyapunov or Riccati inequalities is modest. Examples include: multicriterion LQG, synthesis of linear state feedback for multiple or nonlinear plants ("multi-model control"), optimal transfer matrix realization, norm scaling, synthesis of multipliers for Popov-like analysis of systems with unknown gains, and many others. Full details can be found in the references cited
Bounds on Heavy-to-Heavy Mesonic Form Factors
We provide upper and lower bounds on the form factors for B -> D, D^* by
utilizing inclusive heavy quark effective theory sum rules. These bounds are
calculated to leading order in Lambda_QCD/m_Q and alpha_s. The O(alpha_s^2
beta_0) corrections to the bounds at zero recoil are also presented. We compare
our bounds with some of the form factor models used in the literature. All the
models we investigated failed to fall within the bounds for the combination of
form factors (omega^2 - 1)/(4 omega)|omega h_{A2}+h_{A3}|^2.Comment: 27 pages, 10 figure
MM Algorithms for Geometric and Signomial Programming
This paper derives new algorithms for signomial programming, a generalization
of geometric programming. The algorithms are based on a generic principle for
optimization called the MM algorithm. In this setting, one can apply the
geometric-arithmetic mean inequality and a supporting hyperplane inequality to
create a surrogate function with parameters separated. Thus, unconstrained
signomial programming reduces to a sequence of one-dimensional minimization
problems. Simple examples demonstrate that the MM algorithm derived can
converge to a boundary point or to one point of a continuum of minimum points.
Conditions under which the minimum point is unique or occurs in the interior of
parameter space are proved for geometric programming. Convergence to an
interior point occurs at a linear rate. Finally, the MM framework easily
accommodates equality and inequality constraints of signomial type. For the
most important special case, constrained quadratic programming, the MM
algorithm involves very simple updates.Comment: 16 pages, 1 figur
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